Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Busy Weekend Leads to Some Huge Changes in DI Women’s Poll

Busy Weekend Leads to Some Huge Changes in DI Women’s Poll


By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA courtesy
October 20, 2015   


NEW ORLEANS – Busy doesn’t even begin to describe this past weekend in NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country. Every team that was ranked in the previous National Coaches’ Poll was in action, including those teams who also received votes, but didn’t earn enough points to be in the top-30.
What did that mean for this week’s poll when it was released Tuesday afternoon by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)?
Hint: Lots and lots of movement.
National PDFs: Top 30 Summary | Week-by-Week 2015 | Week-by-Week All Time
Regional Rankings: Summary | Men’s Recap | Women’s Recap
MORE: NCAA DI Polls & Rankings Home | Men’s National Coaches’ Poll

NCAA Division I National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women

1)New Mexico)2)Oregon)3)Colorado4)Arkansas5)Stanford)
New MexicoMichiganColoradoArkansasOregon
View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll
Before there are any heart attacks, New Mexico is still the unanimous No. 1. How could the Lobos not be after steamrolling the field at the prestigious Wisconsin adidas Invitational this past Friday? New Mexico scored 32 points – nearly six times fewer than the second-place team – as its top-5 runners went 4-5-6-7-10.
While Michigan wasn’t as dominant at the Pre-National Invitational as the Lobos were in Madison, Wisconsin, the now-No. 2 Wolverines looked strong in their own right. Michigan won their third consecutive team title and knocked off four top-10 teams in the process – former No. 2 Colorado (now No. 3), former No. 4 Oregon (now No. 5), former No. 7 Georgetown (now No. 18) and former No. 9 Stanford (now No. 10).
So what about those other 19 ranked teams that ran into the buzz saw known as the Lobos at the adidas Invitational? Let’s not forget about that septet that competed alongside Michigan in Louisville, Kentucky either.
Going by last week’s rankings, there were three teams that put themselves in the national conversation last Friday in Madison, Wisconsin – Arkansas, Virginia and North Carolina State.
The young Razorbacks, led by senior Dominique Scott’s third-place showing and a breakthrough performance by freshman Devin Scott (18th), finished second behind New Mexico. Arkansas jumped from No. 11 to No. 4 in this week’s poll.
Behind the Razorbacks were the Cavaliers, who put three runners in the top-30 (Cleo Boyd, Iona Lake, Megan Rebholz), one of just two teams to do that (Bet you can guess the other). Virginia surged 10 spots in this week’s poll, going from No. 17 to No. 7. This is the Cavaliers’ first time ranked in the top-8 in program history.
And the Wolfpack finished fourth despite a less-than-stellar race by two-time National Athlete of the Week Ryen Frazier (38th). Samantha George (13th) was the low stick for NC State. The Wolfpack are now ranked No. 8, which marks their first time in the top-10 since 2006.
Just like that trio, Mississippi State pulled off a bit of an upset of its own this past weekend – but at the Pre-National Invitational. The Bulldogs finished fifth and were just three points behind the Cardinal in fourth. Mississippi State rocketed from receiving votes to No. 13, the first time it has ever been ranked in program history.
The Bulldogs are one of five teams jumping into the poll after dancing on the outside for a while. Mississippi State is joined on the dance floor by No. 19 Utah, No. 25 Columbia, No. 27 Weber State and No. 30 Purdue. This is the first time that the Utes and Boilermakers have been ranked in the National Coaches’ Poll.
After the busy weekend, most – if not, all – of these teams will take off in preparation for their conference championship meet in two weeks. Then two weeks after that, they’ll all converge for regionals and soon after, the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I

Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll

2015 Week #5 — October 20

next poll: November 3
RankInstitution (FPV)PointsRecordRegionConferenceCross Country Coach (Yr*)
Last Week
1New Mexico (12)36055-0MountainMountain WestJoe Franklin (9th)
1
2Michigan33864-0Great LakesBig TenMike McGuire (24th)
5
3Colorado32845-1MountainPac-12Mark Wetmore (21st)
2
4Arkansas32449-1South CentralSECLance Harter (26th)
11
5Oregon30753-2WestPac-12Robert Johnson (4th)
4
6Providence29554-4NortheastBig EastRay Treacy (32nd)
3
7Virginia29047-2SoutheastACCTodd Morgan (4th)
17
8NC State27451-4SoutheastACCLaurie Henes (10th)
12
9Boise State26654-5WestMountain WestCorey Ihmels (3rd)
6
10Stanford25060-5WestPac-12Chris Miltenberg (4th)
9
11Iowa State24955-24MidwestBig 12Andrea Grove-McDonough (3rd)
8
12Washington23138-8WestPac-12Greg Metcalf (14th)
10
13Mississippi State20353-5SouthSECHouston Franks (7th)
RV
14BYU19835-11MountainWest CoastPatrick Shane (34th)
22
15Penn State19344-11Mid-AtlanticBig TenJohn Gondak (2nd)
16
16Syracuse18047-11NortheastACCChris Fox (11th)
15
17Notre Dame16242-13Great LakesACCMatt Sparks (2nd)
18
18Georgetown15159-8Mid-AtlanticBig EastMichael Smith (4th)
7
19Utah13855-9MountainPac-12Kyle Kepler (11th)
RV
20Princeton13334-12Mid-AtlanticIvyPete Farrell (38th)
25
21Michigan State12645-14Great LakesBig TenWalt Drenth (12th)
13
22Minnesota9860-19MidwestBig TenSarah Hopkins (3rd)
23
23Oklahoma State9529-0MidwestBig 12Dave Smith (7th)
28
24William and Mary8726-20SoutheastColonialNatalie Hall (2nd)
23
25Columbia6337-20NortheastIvyDan Ireland (2nd)
RV
26Vanderbilt5335-20SouthSECSteve Keith (10th)
21
27Weber State5158-10MountainBig SkyPaul Pilkington (9th)
RV
28Villanova3043-12Mid-AtlanticBig EastGina Procaccio (16th)
26
29North Carolina2727-19SoutheastACCMark VanAlstyne (4th)
19
30Purdue2271-16Great LakesBig TenRolando Greene (4th)
RV
Others Receiving Votes: California 21, Dartmouth 12, Alabama 9, Lipscomb 8, Wisconsin 3, Baylor 2, Harvard 2, Penn 1
Dropped Out: No. 14 Wisconsin, No. 20 West Virginia, No. 27 Texas, No. 29 Cornell, No. 30 Alabama
Win-loss record reflective of results in varsity competition versus DI opponents starting September 25
(* year as effective coach of that team in women’s cross country)


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